


More of the Kidfic AU - 10

by Tieleen



Series: More of the Kidfic AU [10]
Category: Bandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crack, Gen, Kid Fic, M/M, part 2 of the Kidfic AU series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-13
Updated: 2011-10-13
Packaged: 2017-10-24 14:27:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/264523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tieleen/pseuds/Tieleen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pete doesn't panic. He does what every reasonable parent would have done, and while doing it he ignores Ryan's generously offered tips about how he's being completely ridiculous.</p>
            </blockquote>





	More of the Kidfic AU - 10

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. I have so far managed to avoid, I think, admitting that in my head Gabe and Andy are twins. Or at least they're called 'the twins', I can only assume they share no genetic material whatsoever. But I don't have to make sense.
> 
> 2\. This ficlet started with me once again trying to follow the directions of sensible people and write an actual Pete/Gerard bit in my Pete/Gerard epic. They'd go on a date, I thought! Why is that a big deal? Oooh, maybe Pete just got back from Japan! But of course he'd need to land first! And then this happened.

In the beginning of June, Pete goes to Tokyo for three days to put out some fires, even though Joe reasonably points out that Pete going himself can only make matters worse and, if he really wants things to turn out okay, he should just send Z. Pete doesn't disagree, exactly, but he does think Joe's mostly trying to avoid his obvious best friend duty of taking care of the kids for a few days.

Joe claims this is bullshit and that he likes Pete's kids more than he likes Pete himself, at least on a three-days-a-year basis. Pete can't fault this logic, either.

Except maybe he should have listened to Joe after all, because when Pete gets back Gabe launches himself at his leg and refuses to let go, and pretty soon after all the other kids have gotten bored with hugging and wandered off (and after Ryan had been coaxed into the actual hugging part, what with how they're in a public airport and Pete is wearing the best that Japanese fashion has to offer), Pete learns that he's now the proud owner of a seven-year-old with abandonment issues.

Pete doesn't panic. He does what every reasonable parent would have done, and while doing it he ignores Ryan's generously offered tips about how he's being completely ridiculous, because A, Ryan can talk when he has his own kids to try and raise so they'll be impossible to tell from kids brought up by normal people, and B, it might have been three years and at least seven business trips, but Pete isn't about to try and explain to his fifteen year old about how his little brother's issues might have more than a bit to do with one parent already going and then not coming back.

Gabe's always liked Pete's office, anyway, and it's not like you learn anything in second grade that Pete can't teach him -- or, at least, back when Pete was in second grade he didn't learn anything more challenging than cursive and two-times-two and how to make a water wheel from popsicle sticks, but he tells himself firmly that origami and the science of composting can't be all that hard and anyway, it'll do him good to learn more about that stuff himself.

As an added bonus, the school is doing environmental awareness week, so Pete doesn't even have to try and decide if he wants to bring both twins to the office and save Andy a favoritism complex for the price of risking him developing his own separation anxiety.

"So let me get this straight," Butcher says when Pete fills him in on his newly reduced babysitting quota, "You're planning to deal with his being afraid of you being away by not ever being away?"

"Pretty much," Pete says. "He'll bounce back. You know. It's Gabe."

"Sure," Butcher says kindly.

It takes exactly two days before Frank tries to claim he has separation anxiety too and can't go to school. Pete refrains from asking him where he heard that phrase, since he'd been very careful not to label anything; if pressured to take a guess, he'd say it has a 90% chance of being Ryan trying to make a point, and a 10% chance of Frank doing research in the name of freedom. Either way, at least he pronounced it right.

Instead of arguing the point he turns to the eternal last resort, and sends the kids to a music-related thing with Butcher. Frank folds just like Pete knew he would, but Pete was kind of hoping the lure of the rock-n-roll life would be strong enough to remind Gabe his dad just isn't all that to hang around with, and that part of the plan fails completely. Pete still doesn't panic, even though two of his designers have started to mutter randomly about cobras, and Cash has cornered him by the photocopy machine to (apparently in complete seriousness) demand advice about changing his major and becoming a first grade teacher.

Aside from all that, there's the small matter of only getting to see Gerard while chaperoned, because the one time he tried to leave after Gabe had fallen asleep resulted in Victoria calling to ask if they should call an ambulance or wait until Gabe passed out from hyperventilation.

"Hey, that's cool," Gerard says when Pete calls him the next day. Gabe is in the outer office with Cash. The door is closed, but Pete's pretty sure that's only okay because his office has no other exits. "We'll only date before bedtime. It's okay."

"It's not okay," Pete says. "I was told relationships involve a part where we get naked." It's not like he didn't know Gerard was the last person who'd try to convince him to be sane about this, but still, a bit of commiseration wouldn't hurt.

"That's true, " Gerard says. "Well... maybe you should try talking to him again?"

The problem with talking is that Gabe is awesome at avoiding discussing anything important, which is always sort of baffling for Pete, who avoids things by talking about them. Gabe and Andy have always been, in theory, the ones Pete was parenting as final-product dad, all the mistakes and all the mysteries already smoothed down on the other four. In actual practice, apparently no one was kidding when they told him parenting's something you never really learn.

Pete tries again anyway. Gabe claims he's not scared about anything and doesn't want Pete to leave just because he doesn't, and before Pete can formulate a new plan of attack they're somehow talking about why Cash wouldn't let Gabe see what he was doing on the computer that morning. Since watching porn in the office while a seven year old is in the room is a bit much even for Cash, Pete is kind of curious about the explanation himself. He only realizes after Gabe's wandered off to sweet-talk someone out of their paperclips that he's been beat again, and also that Tennessee the supplies priestess is going to kill him.


End file.
